Separable connector



June 1, 1954 A. N. HANNA SEPARABLE CONNECTOR Filed Nov. e, 1951 PatentedJune l, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

The present invention relates to a novel construction for a key holder,and in particular to one which facilitates the replacement of keys insaid holder, and at the same time permits removal of selected keystherefrom.

Key holders of the type under discussion are in widespread use and areoften, although not necessarily, incorporated into a case or the likefor appearance sake and to protect the pocket of the user from damagewhich is likely to be caused by the keys or the holder itself. Ifholders of this type are to perform their desired functions they must becapable of retaining the keys attached thereto in a positive manner andwithout risk of accidental displacement. They must also be soconstructed that the keys can be removed from or replaced in the holderin a simple manner and without the necessity of using tools orexercising any appreciable manipulative skill. It is also essential,since these holders are normally inexpensive items, that theconstruction be such as .to lend itself to low cost, mass production andyet be sturdy and effective for its desired functions.

The type of key holder to which this invention pertains is that in whichthe keys are not introduced directly into the holder but are firstsemipermanently attached to key carriers, the carriers being thensecurable to the holder in a readily releasable manner. To this end eachcarrier is provided with an enlarged tip and the holder is provided witha plurality of slots narrower than the tip of the carrier land providedwith enlarged portions through which the tip ofthe carrier is passable.Means are provided for blocking and unblocking these enlarged slotportions at the will of the user, the carriers being retained on theholder when the enlarged slot portions are blocked and being removablefrom the holder when those enlarged slot portions are unblocked. Variousstructures have been devised in the past for alternately blocking andunblocking these enlarged slot portions but they have in the main beencharacterized by complexity of structure, diiculty in assembly, andclumsiness of manipulatability. It is a prime object of the presentinvention to devise a structure which materially improves on all of theabove factors.

'I'he present invention relates to an extremely simplied constructionwhich, through the use of a novel type of retainer for blocking theenlarged slot portions, in combination with the other details of the keyholder assembly, permits ready removal and replacement of individual keycarriers, while at the same time providing for positive retention of thekey carriers in the holder assembly when removal or replacement is notdesired. An important feature of the instant invention resides in thefact that key carriers can be very readily inserted into the key holderwithout requiring any special manipulation of the holder, Whereasspecial manipulation thereof is necessary when it is desired to remove akey carrier from the holder. -In addition, in the preferred form of theinvention, resistance is offered to removal of the key carrier from theholder even when the retainer has been manually positioned to permitsuch removal, that resistance being suidcient to prevent the carrierfrom falling out solely because of its own weight and the weight of thekeys attached thereto, but being overcome when the key carrier ismanually pulled. Consequently when a keyholder having a plurality of keycarriers is involved, and when the retainer of that keyholder is movedto a position permitting removal of individual key carriers, all of thecarriers will not fall from the holder if the holder is inadvertentlyimproperly positioned.

The keyholder of the present invention is extremely simple inconstruction and inexpensive to make. It can be attractively designed sothat it can readily be used in and of itself, without having to beincorporated into a key case, wallet or the like, although it can bemade part of a case if desired. One speciiic form of the presentinvention here illustrated has the further advantage that it may beclipped to a pocket or lining of a handbag or the like, being removedtherefrom when use of a key is desired.

In the keyholder of the present invention the enlarged tip of the keycarrier is retained between the spaced front and rear walls of theholder housing, the retainer being movable from one of the front andrear walls of the housing to the other so as to block or unblock accessto the enlarged slot portion in the housing. The retainer is resilientlyheld in blocking position, and manual means are provided to move it awayfrom that blocking position when removal or insertion of a key carrieris desired. Its direction of motion away from blocking position is thesame as the direction of motion of the key carrier tip when the carrieris to be inserted into the holder, and is opposite to the direction ofmotion of the key carrier tip when the carrier is to be removed from theholder. Consequently the retainer, when in blocking position, does notpositively prevent insertion of a key carrier. but instead yields topermit such insertion, whereas the retainer does positively blockremoval of the key carrier, manual manipulation of the retainer beingnecessary before removal can be accomplished.

In the preferred form of the invention, the retainer, besides beingmovable against a resilient force to its unblocking position, has aresiliently deformable portion which, even when the retainer is in itsunblocking position, nevertheless obstructs passage of the enlarged keycarrier tip through the enlarged slot portion. Since this portion of theretainer is resiliently deformable, a moderate amount of pull exerted onthe carrier will enable it to deform the retainer and pass through theenlarged slot portion in the holder. However, if an actual pull is notexerted on the key carrier it will not accidentally be dislodged fromthe holder while the retainer is held in unblocking position.

To the accomplishment of the above, and such other objects as mayhereinafter appear, the present invention relates to the structure of akeyholder as defined in the appended claims and as described in thisspecification, taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a top plan view of one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along theline 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view similar to Fig. 3 but showing theposition which the various parts assume when it is desired to remove akey carrier from the holder and particularly illustrates the manner inwhich the retainer, even when in unblocking position, resilientlyobstructs removal of the key carrier;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross sectional view similar to Fig. 4 butshowing the position which the parts assume when the key carrier hasbeen moved slightly farther out from the holder than is shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of another embodiment of the presentinvention;

Fig. '7 is a top plan view thereof; and

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view thereof on an enlarged scale takenalong the line 8-8 of Fig. 6.

The keyholder of Figs. 1-5 is formed of a housing generally designated 2and a retainer generally designated 4. The housing is formed from asingle sheet of metal reversely bent upon itself and with its edgesanged so as to define a front wall `E, a rear wall 8, a lower end wallill and combination side and top end walls l2 and i4. For purposes ofappearance the entire housing is shown as substantially triangular inshape, the upper portion of the rear wall 8 being looped at IG so as tobe adapted to receive ltherethrough the end ring I8 of a chain 20 or thelike. Front and rear walls 6 and 3 are held in desired position by meansof a rivet 22 near the upper end of the housing.

Slots generally designated 24 are formed in the housing, those slotsincluding an enlarged portion 2S near the bottom of the front wall 6which communicates with a narrow portion 28 extending to and across thelower end edge IG of the housing, said lower end edge I0 being deiinedby the reverse bend in the single sheet of material of which the housing2 is formed.

The housing is adapted to be used in conjunction with key carriersgenerally designated 36.

Those carriers conventionally include an enlarged tip 32, a shank 34 anda resiliently openable loop 36, the free end 38 of the loop having acurved inner surface which smoothly conforms to the curved outer surfaceof the shank 34 where the tip 38 meets the shank 34. The width of thenarrow slot portion 28 is larger than the width of the shank 34 of thekey carrier 30 but less than the width oi the carrier tip 32. Theenlarged slot portion 26 has a width greater than the width of thecarrier tip 32. The front and rear walls 6 and 8 of the housing 2 areseparated from one another in the region of the slots 24 by a distancegreater than the width of the carrier tip 32. Hence, as is conventional,the carrier 30, upon which one or more keys 40 may be mounted, may beattached to the holder by causing its tip 32 to pass through theenlarged slot portion 26 and between the front and rear housing walls 6and 8, the carrier shank 34 projecting out through the narrow slotportion 28. Removal of a carrier 3U from the housing 2 is effected byopposite motion thereof.

The retainer which prevents removal of carriers 3B from the housing 2except when that is speciically desired, may take the form of a sheet orstrip of resilient material one portion 42 of which may be anchoredwithin the housing 2 against longitudinal or transverse movement, as byhaving the rivet 22 passed therethrough. The retainer 4 extends from theportion 42 toward the slots 24, the end 44 of the retainer 4 extendingunder at least a substantial portion of the enlarged slot portion 26.The retainer 4 is so mounted in the housing 2 that it normally liesalong the underside of the front wall 6, the retainer end 44 closelyunderlying and effectively closing the enlarged slot portion 2'6. Thisconstitutes the first or blocking" position of the retainer d. It willbe noted that the free end 44 is slightly bent toward the front wall 6for a purpose hereinafter to be disclosed.

The front wall 6 is provided with an aperture 46 through which thebutton 48 projects, that button being secured to the retainer 4 at apoint between the xed portion 42 and the end 44 thereof. When the button48 is manually depressed, as shown in Fig. 4, the retainer 4 isresiliently distorted and is caused to move from the front wall 6toward, and preferably into engagement with, the rear wall 8. In sodoing the end 44 of the retainer 4 will be moved away from the enlargedslot portion 25. The thickness of the housing 2 immediately under theenlarged slot portion 28 is suicient so that, allowing for the thicknessof the retainer 4, the carrier tip 32 can pass through the enlarged slotportion 25 and into the space between the top front and rear walls 6 and8 of the housing 2 when the retainer 4 engages the rear wall 8. Thisrepresents the second or unblocking portion of the re- ,tainer 4, whichit is caused to assume whenever removal or replacement of a key carrier30 is desired.

Because the end 44 of the carrier 4 is bent toward the front wall 6 ofthe housing 2, movement of the carrier tip 32 into and out of thehousing 2 is not completely unobstructed even when the retainer 4 is inits second or unblocking position. This is clear from an examination ofFig. 4. The edge of the retainer end 44 is spaced from the front housingwall 6 by a distance somewhat less than the thickness of the carrier tip32. is made of resilient material the bent end 44 direction of the arrow41 of Fig. 4 while the re- However, because the carrier 4- tainer 4 isin its second or unblocking position, the carrier tip v32 will exert acam action on the retainer end 44, flattening it as shown in Fig. 5

so as to permit removal of the carrier 30. In order for this cam actionto take place, the distance between the edge of the retainer end 44 andthe front housing wall 6 should not be less than one-half the thicknessof the carrier tip 32, and preferably should be only very slightly lessthan the entire thickness thereof.

The embodiments of Figs. 1-5 is, insofar as its details are concerned,particularly adapted for attachment to a keychain 2B or the like such asis often worn by men. The embodiment of Figs.

6-8, while it operates on substantially the same principle as theembodiment of Figs. 1 5, has its specific structural details somewhatmodified so as to be formed with a clamping member 49, so that it may beclipped to a panel or to a pocket in a ladys purse, for example. In thisembodiment the front wall 6 is provided with an extension or handle 50,ears 52 extending rearwardly from opposite sides of the front wall 6'.The rear housing wall 8 is secured to the front housing wall 6 by meansof an eyelet 22', the portion 42 of the retainer 4' being clampeddirectly between the front wall 6 and an inset portion 54 of the rearwall 8' by the eyelet 22. The clamping member 49 is in the form of alever provided with upstanding ears 56 received between the ears 52 andpivotally mounted on shaft 56 which passes through the ears 52 and 56. Aspring 60 is secured between the extension 5B of the Ihousing front wall6 and an extension or handle 62 which forms a part of the clampingmember 49, the spring 60 causing the clamping member 49 to pivot in aclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 8 so that its free end 64 isclamped against the rear housing wall 8'.

The manner of use of the key holder of the present invention will on themain be apparent from the above description. When it is desired toinsert a key carrier 30 in the housing 2, it is only necessary toposition the carrier tip 32 over an enlarged slot portion 2G and thenexert pressure on the carrier 30 so as to urge its tip 32 into thehousing 2. This pressure will first be exerted toward the rear wall 8,and the retainer 4 will yield in response thereto until the retainer 4itself engages the rear wall 8. The carrier 30 will then be pulledtoward the front end edge I0 of the housing 2, its tip 32 passing overand resiliently deforming the bent end 44 of the retainer 4. As soon asthe carrier tip 32 has moved past the retainer 4 in the direction of thefront end edge l0 of the housing 2, the retainer 4 will snap into placebehind it, blocking the enlarged Slot portion 26 and thus positivelypreventing removal or accidental loss of the carrier 30.

When it is desired to remove an individual carrier 30, the button 48 isdepressed, thus moving the retainer 4 to its second or unblockingposition shown in Fig. 4. This exposes the enlarged slot portion 26 andpermits the carrier 30 to be removed from the housing 2 in a mannerwhich is exactly the reverse of its mode of insertion.

In its preferred form of the present invention, with the retainer 4having a resiliently deformable portion (the end 44) which partiallyobstructs passage of the carrier tip 32 through the enlarged slotportion 26 even when the retainer 4 is in its second or unblockingposition, the carriers 30 will not accidentally fall from or becomedetached from the housing 2 just because the retainer is moved 'tounblocking position. Some additional pull must be exerted on theparticular carrier 30 removal of which is desired, that pull serving todeform the portion 44 and permit egress of -the carrier tip 32. This isa particularly important feature where more than one carrier is mountedin the housing.

Both of the embodiments here disclosed may be formed of simple sheetstock, and in an eX- ceedingly eicient and inexpensive manner. Only avery small number of parts are involved, and all of the parts functionin an extremely positive way.

While but two embodiments of the present invention have been heredisclosed, it `will be apparent that many variations may be made thereinwithin the spirit of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a key holder and key carrier having a part insertableinto and removable from said holder, said holder comprising a housing including spaced front and rear walls, said iront wail having a slot'therethrough communicating with the space between said walls and havingan enlarged portion through which said key carrier part is insertableand a narrow portion through which said key carrier part will not pass,a re tainer in said housing between said walls and movable between afirst and blocking position adjacent said front wall and underlying andeffectively closing the enlarged portion of said slot and a second andlimiting position positively engaging said rear wall and separated fromsaid iront wail by a distance substantially equal to the thickness ofsaid key carrier part, said retainer having a resiliently deformableportion bent toward said front wall and positioned between the end ofsaid narrow slot portion and the beginning of said enlarged slotportion, means resiliently urging said retainer to its first position,and manually manipulatable means operatively connected to said retainerand extending to the exterior of said housing, whereby said retainer canbe moved to its second position, said insertable key carrier part havingan appreciable dimension in a direction normal to said front wall whensaid key carrier part is inserted through said enlarged slot portion,the end surfaces of said key carrier part being inclined to define camsurfaces cooperable with said bent retainer portion, said bent retainerportion positively engaging said front wall when said retainer is in itsfirst position and being spaced from said front `wall by a distanceslightly less than said dimensionv of said key carrier part when saidretainer is in its second position, thereby presenting an impediment tothe removal or insertion of said key carrier from said housing even whensaid retainer is in its second position, said bent retainer portionbeing cammed away from said enlarged slot portion by said key carrierpart to permit removal of said key carrier from said housing when saidcarrier is pulled thereagainst and when said retainer is in its secondposition.

7 row slot portion, thus presenting a greater impediment to the removalof said key carrier part from said housing than to its insertiontherein.

4. The combination of claim 1, in which said retainer comprises a stripone portion of which remote from said bent portion thereof is fixed insaid housing at a point remote from said enlarged slot portion and onthe opposite side thereof from said narrow slot portion, said bentretainer portion being free and underlying said enlarged slot portion.

5. The combination of claim 4, in which said front wall is apertured ata point over said strip between its fixed portion and free end, and inwhich said manually manipulatable means comprises a member secured tosaid strip, passing through said aperture, and extending above saidfront wall when said strip is in its first position by a distance equalat least substantially to said dimension of said insertable key carrierpart.

6. The combination of claim 1, in which said bent retainer portioninclines toward said narrow slot portion, thus presenting a greater'impediment to the removal of said key carrier from said housing than toits insertion therein.

7. The combination of claim 6, in which said retainer comprises a stripone portion of which remote from said bent portion thereof is xed insaid housing at a point remote from said enlarged slot portion and onthe opposite side thereof from said narrow, slot portion, said bentretainer portion being free and underlying said enlarged slot portion.

8. The combination of claim 6, in which said retainer comprises a stripone portion of which remote from an end thereof is xed in said housingat a point remote from said enlarged slot portion and on the oppositeside thereof from said narrow slot portion, said end of said strip.being free and underlying said enlarged slot portion, said bentretainer portion being at said end, in which said front wall isapertured at a point over said strip between its fixed portion and freeend, and in which said manually manipulatable means comprises a membersecured to said strip, passing through said aperture, and extendingabove said front wall when said strip is in its first position by adistance equal at least substantially to said dimension to saidnsertable key carrier part.

References Cited in the file 0f this patent.

UNITED STATES PATENTS

